Rodriguez thrilled about historic Brazil clash

James Rodriguez is thrilled at the opportunity to take on Brazil in what will be a historic FIFA World Cup quarter-final for Colombia.

Published

29 June 2014

Having never previously reached the last eight of the tournament, Colombia were inspired to victory over Uruguay in the Maracana on Saturday by an outstanding performance from the Monaco man.

Scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over Oscar Tabarez's side, Rodriguez's first strike will live long in the memory; a fine left-footed volley that crashed in off the crossbar after he had controlled a lofted pass on his chest.

That brace took him to five goals for the tournament, one ahead of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Thomas Muller in the race for the golden boot.

And the 22-year-old is relishing the chance to take on the hosts in Fortaleza on Friday.

"We're very happy because we are making history," he said.

"As a younger man, I always wanted to be here. That was a great dream of mine and we hope that we can make it far.

"It is a dream and we are making history and we want to do even more because this is a team that wants to win a lot.

"There is no pressure. Obviously they have their good players, they play well but I believe they must also follow us closely.

"We have good players and we can be dangerous, so this is going to be a beautiful match. It will be something extraordinary for us to play.

"They are a hard team, they have great players and they also have their history. I believe that we have to come out onto the pitch to win as we have always done and to always attempt to win.

"I only want to help. I am at a good level, we're also scoring goals and I am happy because of that."